Duke's Mike Krzyzewski is currently tied with Bobby Knight for the most wins in NCAA Division I basketball. (Photo by Sara D. Davis/Getty Images)

Winter Park native Austin Rivers could be a part of NCAA men’s basketball history tonight. Rivers, son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, will try to help his coach become the all-time winningest coach in men’s college basketball history.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is just one win shy of setting a new Division I college men’s basketball record for wins at 903 as the Blue Devils take on Michigan State tonight. Currently, Coach K is tied with his mentor Bobby Knight at 902 victories.

ESPN will broadcast the game slated for a 7 p.m. start at Madison Square Garden.

Now that we know the NBA lockout has potential to last for the entire 2011-12 season, it’s nice to know sports fans won’t be completely deprived of their basketball.

Kris Humphries sounded every bit the the devastated husband in a statement he released claiming reconciliation was his goal with his E! channel reality star wife of 72 days.

“I love my wife and am devastated to learn she filed for divorce,” he said. ““I’m committed to this marriage and everything this covenant represents,” he said, “and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it work.”

But Kim Kardashian doesn’t seem to share his desire to make the marriage work according to the statement she released earlier.

“I hope everyone understands this was not an easy decision. I had hoped this marriage was forever but sometimes things don’t work out as planned.”

HBO Real Sports anchor Bryant Gumbel never holds back in his commentary. And his recent comments about NBA Commissioner David Stern were no different in which he compared Stern to a plantation overseerer.

“Finally tonight, if the NBA lockout is going to be resolved any time soon, it seems likely to be done in spite of David Stern, not because of him. I say that because the NBA’s infamously egocentric commissioner seems more hell-bent lately on demeaning the players than resolving his game’s labor impasse.

How else to explain Stern’s rants in recent days? To any and everyone who’d listen, he has alternately knocked union leader Billy Hunter, said the players were getting inaccurate information, and started sounding chicken-little claims about what games might be lost if the players didn’t soon see things his way.

Stern’s version of what’s been going on behind closed doors has, of course, been disputed. But his efforts were typical of a commissioner, who has always seemed eager to be viewed as some kind of modern plantation overseer treating NBA men as if they were his boys. It’s part of Stern’s M.O. Like his past self-serving edicts on dress code or the questioning of officials, his moves are intended to do little more than show how he’s the one keeping the hired hands in their place.

Some will, of course, cringe at that characterization, but Stern’s disdain for the players is as palpable and pathetic as his motives are transparent. Yes, the NBA’s business model is broken, but to fix it, maybe the league’s commissioner should concern himself most with a solution, and stop being part of the problem.”

Thoughts?

]]>http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports-sentinel-sports-now/2011/10/19/hbos-gumbel-compares-david-stern-to-plantation-overseerer/feed/20Medics found negligent in murder of American basketball player in Romaniahttp://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports-sentinel-sports-now/2011/10/13/medics-found-negligent-in-murder-of-american-basketball-player-in-romania/
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports-sentinel-sports-now/2011/10/13/medics-found-negligent-in-murder-of-american-basketball-player-in-romania/#commentsThu, 13 Oct 2011 16:44:11 +0000shannonowenshttp://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports-sentinel-sports-now/?p=4889

Because Chauncey Hardy was playing in Romania instead of somewhere near Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, I understand why his death isn’t deemed largely important or interesting to American media.

But it should be. It should also be a sobering reality for NBA players and owners alike that no matter how wide the gap is in their negotiations, there are few better countries to play professional basketball than in than America. Because if you get beat up in a bar after a game, you can at least expect decent medical care.

Chauncey Hardy shouldn’t have died that way. He shouldn’t have been brutally attacked in a Romanian bar, beaten into a coma, neglected by police and doctors until Hardy took the last breath of his 23-year-old life thousands of miles away from his family. Surely, his family must have thought he would be safe in his first season overseas. Isn’t that life supposed to be exotic and glamorous? Isn’t that life what NBA players are leveraging over owners’ heads?

I am outraged about the Romania health ministry’s report that concluded two doctors were negligent in their treatment of his fatal injuries. Judging by the egregiously mishandled care of Chauncey Hardy, it’s hard to believe that we know the full truth about the circumstances surrounding his death.

Was he really attacked by one bar patron? Or was he attacked by a group of men with more than a handful of lethal punches and attacks? How long did it really take police to respond to the call about an American being beaten near death in a local bar? How in the world could doctors think his injuries were just due to “drinking”? Did they not see blood and bruising? Were his teammates nearby? Did they see what happened? Will the Hardy family ever get true justice?

This story hit a little too close to home. Chauncey Hardy could have been my brother. He’s played professional basketball overseas for nine years and I thank God for his safety everyday.

But Hardy was someone’s son, someone’s friend and someone’s teammate. And this should never happen.

Barkley also called David Stern the “best commissioner in sports” during the interview and supported his philosophy of protecting small market NBA teams.

“If you notice, he mentioned every small-market team. The NBA owners are going to protect these small-market teams. They don’t like the fact all the stars want to play in big cities. And this whole thing is going to be about: We’re not going to be like baseball, where you have 20 bad franchises that are really like a minor league system until the players get good enough and then they go to the Yankees or Red Sox.”

Agree or disagree with Charles Barkley, you have to respect that he’s willing to stand for something – and put his money where his mouth is.

Delonte West of the Cleveland Cavaliers fights to keep control of the ball against Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2008 NBA Playoffs n Boston. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

The industry of furniture sales just got infinitely more popular thanks for NBA guard Delonte West.

West tweeted his 6,000-plus followers @CharleeRedz13 that he was the proud new employee for Regency Furniture Showcase, a furniture chain on the East Coast. It’s important to note that West previously applied for a job at Home Depot in August in light of the fact that he cannot play basketball overseas to his previous legal problems according to the Huffington Post. West also told TrueHoops that applied for a job at Sam’s Club in August.

“I actually might have work with Sam’s (Club), BJ’s, selling knives,” said West, who has been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. “That’s pretty cool too. I get a microphone and everything.”

Does that quote make anybody nervous?

Delonte West, also known for his alleged tryst with LeBron James mother Gloria James, has made no secret about his money troubles via his twitter account in light of the NBA lockout. Basketballreference.com cites West’s career earnings at $14,093,519 since joining the league in 2004. His largest single season payout came from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2009-10 season where he made just over $4 million.

In stark contrast, Philadelphis 76ers guard Andre Iguodala shadowed a venture capitalist and visited the New York Stock Exchange as part of a week-long internship with Bank of America Merrill Lynch according to Yahoo! Sports NBA senior writer Marc Spears.

There’s nothing wrong with good, honest work. Thousands of men and women across America provide valuable services to us at furniture stores and at Home Depot chains. I’m guessing less than one percent of those men and women came from million-dollar plus careers.

If NBA commissioner David Stern has a heart, he’ll strongly consider not cancelling the NBA season out of sheer pity for Delonte West.

The NBA lockout has clearly had some positive effects. After an 11-year relationship, former Orlando Magic forward Rashard Lewis had time to marry his girlfriend of 11 years, Giovanni Fortes, last Saturday in California. Lewis and Fortes, who still share a residence in Orlando, have two children together, Gianna and Rashard Jr.

According to theybf.com, the bride wore a Vera Wang gown and walked down to the aisle to Alicia Keys’ “Never Felt This Way” in front of 250 friends and family at the Terranea Resort. Wedding participants dined on wild mushroom ravioli, roasted beet salad, pan roasted striped bass, braised short ribs, mango croissant bread puffing and caramel cheesecake creme brulee for dessert.

The wedding, of course, produced a rare sighting in the NBA world – an actual basketball wife.

NBA all-star Amar'e Stoudemire was taken with the ninth overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft by the Phoenix Suns.

New York Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire is making good with his extra down time during the NBA lockout. The former Cypress Creek high school basketball star recently signed a publishing deal with scholastic books to produce a children’s book series according to online reports.

The book series, titled STAT: Standing Tall and Talented, a chapter book series for middle-grade readers launching in August 2012.

“I am excited to create my book series with Scholastic,” Amar’e Stoudemire said in a press release. “They are the best in the business so I trust them with my stories. I decided to write for children because although I am an avid reader now, I wish I had read more as a child. I hope that together with Scholastic, we can creatively inspire a new generation to read.”

According to the release, the first book in STAT: Standing Tall And Talented will be published in both hardcover and paperback on August 1, 2012, to be followed by new books in October 2012 and January 2013. In STAT #1: Home Court, eleven-year-old Amar’e Stoudemire has a lot going on. He plays sports with his friends. He takes his school work seriously. He helps out with his dad’s landscaping company. And he loves to go skateboarding in the park. But when an older group of boys start bullying his friends on the basketball court, Amar’e is forced to step in and use his athletic ability and intelligence to save the day. He realizes that basketball is his true passion.

It’s really nice to see an athlete making good use of his time during this lockout.

NBA basketball players Dwyane Wade (L), Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul gesture to fans as they arrive at a promotional event at an outdoor basketball court in Beijing, August 1, 2011. REUTERS/Barry Huang

The NBA lockout is forcing NBA players to bring out all kinds of interesting side talents, like breakdancing.

Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade tweeted a link to this video, courtesy of whosay.com, of him, Chris Paul and Carmelo challenging a Chinese breakdance team to a dance-off during a promotional tour for Nike’s Jordan Flight Tour.

I wish this was a bargaining strategy for the NBA lockout. I’d love to see David Stern bust a move.

LeBron James sits with Jim Gray before an interview on ESPN on Thursday, July 8, 2010, in Greenwich, Conn

Memo to David Stern, Billy Hunter, Derek Fisher and the NBA stars – the public needs to hear from you.

If you’re like me, then maybe you’ve noticed the leaders in the labor negotiations have been eerily quiet. Even more peculiar is how silent the NBA stars have been when it comes to fighting against hard salary caps in the 2011 NBA lockout.

Stars like Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning were on the front lines for players in the 1998-99 lockout. But that clearly hasn’t been the case this time around.

We’ve heard a lot of talk about overseas teams the league’s most recognizable players are considering taking their talents to. We’ve heard little to nothing about the issues in the lockout and – most important – where these players stand.

Considering the fact that small businesses and those individuals working for the team are the most negatively impacted by labor unrest, the public has a right to know.

Here’s an excerpt from my upcoming column in the Orlando Sentinel.

NBA stars couldn’t get enough of the limelight this past season. So much so, in fact, that I sometimes wondered if LeBron James and ESPN President George Bodenheimer were secret cousins.

Carmelo Anthony and his wife bombarded the public with their new marriage on a reality show and even had a guest spot on ABC’s popular daytime show, “The View.” Dwight Howard sold us McDonald’s hamburgers and Adidas shoes with his mile-wide grin. Among LeBron James’ many hit-or-miss media moments last season, he even debuted a cartoon series about his life – because we clearly don’t know enough about his world.

Today’s NBA stars are better than anyone else in professional sports when it comes to being vocal about self-promotion and branding. They’re even smart enough to export their brand across the world to places like China and Turkey.

But when it comes to fighting against owners in the 2011 NBA lockout, they’ve been surprisingly quiet.